Marital matters: Murder, starring Mallika Sherawat, was a study in infidelity

Can he take care of our daughter? Is he getting cosy with his secretary? Is she having an extra-marital affair?

Snoop before tying the knot; snoop after tying the knot? As the suspicion graph goes north, cases of pre and post-marital investigations are also on the rise.

Parents wanting to be doubly sure if the groom in question is the suitable boy; housewives with a sinking feeling about the time their husbands spend with their secretaries; husbands who get all worked up if they don?t know their wives? whereabouts?

Enter, the private detective on yet another assignment of the ?private? kind.

?With the wedding season approaching, we are busy with more than 50 cases of pre-marital cases every month,? says P.K. Mitra of Dark?s Security Private Limited.

The probe points? The financial and business (or service) status of Mr Right and his ?character?, followed by family background.

Take the case of the ?good match? for Kusum (name changed). His resume was almost too good to be true. It was. A closer look revealed how his family was on the verge of bankruptcy. The ?distress marriage? was called off.

Brides-to-be are also coming under the sleuthing scanner. The demand from the detective agency ? who has she been going around with; what are her culinary skills?

?With more and more marriages breaking up, both the sides want to be extra careful,? says a source in Globe Detective Agency.

That?s pre-marital and parent-driven. Post-marriage, sleuths are called in either to keep an eye on a working wife or a husband staying out till late.

?Such cases are multiplying. The husband wants to be sure that the wife is being loyal. The wives are wary of their husbands? attractive secretary or want to know precisely what he is spending so much of his salary on,? reveals a spokesperson for Tops Security.

Take Krish and Jaya (names changed). Jaya picked up her seven-year-old son from his tutor?s house every evening on her way back home from work. With her exit time from office and entry time at home showing a suspicious gap, Krish hired a private eye. Jaya was found to be having an affair with her son?s tutor.

Till even a few years ago, such personal cases contributed precious little to the revenues of detective agencies. But now, marital matters ?easily account for more than 40 per cent? of the earnings.

?The total fees for one case can be anything between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 (plus on-the-case-expenditure) depending upon the place where our personnel have to go for the investigation,? says Mitra.

Trained detectives and ex-policemen carry out the investigations and the identities of the clients are kept under wraps.